Chapter Fifteen

Past Connections

A/AN: Well guys here's the chapter most of you have been waiting for…How did Cora become so vile? How did she meet Maurice? You may be surprised. I can't promise that you won't be shouting at your monitors by the time this is all over, but I do hope you enjoy learning more about Cora and some of you may even hold a shred of sympathy for her once this chapter concludes but most of you won't…Read on if you dare dearies! ;)

Long Ago in Albannach…

"Mother please don't go…What will I do without you?" a distraught young woman pleaded as she held onto her dying mother's hand. The woman reached up to stroke erratic auburn curls from her face.

"I hoped this day would never come, but you should know the truth Cora." the ailing woman coughed heavily into her handkerchief, spots of blood coloring the fabric when she pulled it away from her mouth.

"What are you talking about mother?" Cora inquired rubbing her mother's back consolingly as her body wrecked with coughing fits.

"I always told you that your father left us when you were born, but I lied to you Cora. I'm sorry, but my past isn't something I'm proud of." her mother revealed as her breathing labored. Death lingered in the air ready to snatch up her soul at any moment.

"Mother it's okay…Just tell me. I'll try and understand." Cora assured her unwilling to be angry with her mother when she was so close to death.

"I worked at a tavern when I was about your age to bring in the extra income. A distant traveler came in one night while I was working. He kept smiling at me and left a generous tip after he left. He came back the next night and requested my services once again. He told me that he was a king and that he thought I was very beautiful. He offered me a handsome reward if I offered him my services for one night. I was hesitant at first, but I needed the money. We spent the night together, and I became pregnant. I never saw him again, but he left me this." her mother revealed pointing to the emerald pendant around her neck.

"You mean my father is a king?" Cora inquired eyeing the pendant her mother hadn't once taken off. She felt her heart beat ecstatically at the innumerable possibilities this meant for her future.

"Yes your father is the king of Albannach, but you must never go to him. He's a cruel man and there's no telling what he will if he ever finds out about you. I'm only telling you this now because this pendent is worth more than this entire house. I want you to take it and sell it. It should bring enough to establish you." her mother warned unclasping the necklace.

"Promise me that you'll never go to him Cora. I wanted to tell you about your father because it's a burden my soul could no longer bear. You deserved to know the truth about him." her mother respired before going into another coughing fit.

"I promise." Cora reassured her as she took the necklace from her hands. Cora watched as her mother gave one final cough before collapsing onto her back.

"Mother?" Cora inquired hesitantly as she reached out to touch her brow lightly. Color dissipated from the woman's face slowly. Cora took a deep breath, touching the side of her face, feeling for a pulse but there wasn't one.

"Oh mother…Now I'll truly be alone." the sixteen year old girl lamented, laying across her mother's body, sobbing heavily.

~X~

Cora couldn't bring herself to sell the emerald pendent. It was the only thing she'd kept that truly made her feel connected to her mother. The clerics burned their shack announcing that it had become unholy because of her mother's sickness. She wasn't allowed to keep anything but the clothes on her back. She found herself with nowhere to go, and she had no job. There was only one line of work that she would fare well in unless she sold the pendent but then she had an epiphany.

Cora found herself standing in front of King Malcom's castle, her supposed father, "I know I promised you that I would never go looking for him mother, but I have no choice. He needs to know who I am.". She grit her teeth and marched up to the palace gates and was immediately stalled by two guards.

"What business do you have at the castle peasant?" one guard reprimanded, holding her back.

"I wish to speak to the king. I have something very important to tell him." Cora protested, struggling against their hold.

"You and everyone else now be on your way before the king decides to put that pretty head of yours on a spike." the other guard hissed pushing her roughly.

"How dare you!" Cora seethed, fighting against them. She was met with a hard slap across the face and a kick to her abdomen. She writhed in pain as the guards left her in a heap.

"I will get in that castle." she determined formulating a plan in her mind. After several day of plotting Cora had memorized which parts of the castle were guarded at night and which parts weren't. She made her way through a back entryway of the castle that the assigned guard who stood post often fell asleep at. She quietly crept through dark hallways, hoping to find the king's chamber. Surely he wouldn't turn his own flesh and blood away. King Malcolm would remember the pendent he'd given her mother, and she would never want for anything again.

Cora was certain she'd found the king's chamber. She pushed the elaborately decorated door open to find a nursery instead. She blinked curiously, closing the door quietly behind her. She made her way over to an intricately carved wooden crib. She peeked inside to find a babe of about six months staring back at her. She felt her heart clench in her chest at her discovery.

"You must be the king's son, the one who actually managed to survive." Cora tisked picking up the small infant, cradling him in her arms. It was no secret in Albannach that King Malcom's wife suffered from infertility. After many failed miscarriages, she'd finally bore the king a son but had tragically passed away during childbirth.

"Rumplestiltskin is it?" Cora smirked to the fidgety babe.

"You may be the king's child but so am I, and one day I'm going to take everything away from you. I'm going to secure the life that was meant to be mine all along. One day I will take away the thing you love most." Cora promised, placing the baby back in it's crib. She could hear his faint cries as she left the room, something bitter birthing in her heart.

Several Years Later…

Cora found work at the local tavern. She loathed the long hours and the wandering hand's of the passing travelers, but she held out. Her burning desire for revenge fueled her on. After working late one evening, a certain stranger caught her eye. He'd been flirting with her all evening. She enjoyed the compliments he was giving her and was elated when he asked for her company.

"Sit down Cora." the handsome stranger commanded.

"I still have customers though." she bit back nervously.

"I do say that you've worked well past the end of your shift and deserve a break. Take a load off and have a drink with me." he stated invitingly with his bedroom eyes.

"Thank you." Cora blushed as he passed her a cup of ale. She took a large swig and smiled passing it back to him.

"You know I've watched you all night. You work in a tavern, but you move like a lady." he praised, taking her hand and kissing it.

"Someone told me to act like what you plan to be, so I try to be a little better than what I am." she admitted shyly to him.

"Well I wish I could stay but tomorrow I'll be leaving town unfortunately." he sighed with a forlorn look in his eyes.

"That's a shame…" Cora cleared her throat uncomfortably until he reached out to her. She was shocked to see him wearing a ring that beheld the royal crest.

"The royal crest…" she gasped in surprise once she realized who he really was.

"Oh that's…You weren't supposed to see that. I wanted you to know me for me and not this Prince Jonathan." he said pulling his hand away from her.

"And why's that?" she inquired etching closer to him.

"Because from the moment I saw you tonight, I thought you were breathtaking. There are so many noble women from where I reside, and they make me feel this big." he elaborated with his hands, "But you make me feel like a person, the exact woman I've been looking for to rule beside me." he revealed pulling her closer.

"So what are you saying?" she inquired swallowing hard.

"I meant to only ask this question once in my life, but I mean to ask it again in two weeks when I turn this ring into gold. Well I'll bring you a gold one." he chortled placing a ring made of straw on her left ring finger.

"Cora will you marry me?" he inquired to the barmaid.

"Yes I'll marry you." she smiled, pushing back her tears.

"Excellent…Meet me at the crossroads at noon in two weeks. I don't want to waste anytime." he respired meeting her gaze.

"I'll be there? When do you have to leave?" she questioned him full of desperation never wanting this moment to end.

"Very early tomorrow I'm afraid…" he sighed looking sorrowfully.

"Well the tavern closes soon and seeing that we are essentially married, perhaps I could keep you company in your room?" she smirked suggestively. He allowed her to lead him back up to his room, and they spent the night together.

~X~

Two weeks had come and gone, and she saw no more of Prince Jonathan. She found out sometime later that he was just a passing traveler who liked to impersonate a prince so that he could lure unsuspecting women into his bed.

Cora continued to work heartbrokenly at the tavern. She became even more distraught when she found out she was with child. She had no one to take care of her and her hopes of one day becoming queen were dashed.

On rainy spring day, Cora gave birth to a girl who she named Regina in honor of her mother. She continued to provide the best she could for them both but one day she snapped. Regina should've been enough for her. She loved her raven haired daughter but her unquenchable desire for power kept gnawing at her soul. One day a certain fairy paid a visit to her.

Cora was laundering her clothing in the nearby river that she visited once a week but her heart was especially heavy today. Regina had just turned twelve, and they were struggling severely with little money or food. Her daughter was old enough to work, but she didn't want to put that burden on Regina. She scrubbed the clothes she'd mended over and over again. They couldn't afford new ones, but Regina would need them as quickly as she was growing.

"You're heart is heavy isn't it?" a mystical voice inquired. Cora was so absorbed in her washing that she almost thought she'd imagined the voice. She placed her clothing aside and turned to face a peculiar looking creature.

"Who are you?" Cora inquired to the peculiar looking woman with black horns. She also wore a long flowing black cape with a collar that jutted out the sides. She carried a peculiar looking staff with a green glowing orb that sat atop it.

"I'm Maleficent." the woman introduced herself, bowing respectfully.

"But what are you?" Cora inquired curiously, etching closer to her.

"I'm a fairy." Maleficent revealed in a smooth voice.

"A fairy? I thought fairies only helped nobles and as you can tell I'm not royalty." Cora scoffed pulling at her patched peasant dress.

"But you will be…I've been watching you for a long time Cora, and you intrigue me." Maleficent smiled sending a chill up her spine.

"How can you help me?" Cora inquired drawn in by Maleficent's entrancing tone. She could feel the magic tingling around her and it was exhilarating. She hadn't felt anything quite like it ever before.

"It's not how I'm going to help you my dear but how you're going to help us. There's a king who lives just south of Albannach. The kingdom is known as Avonlea. This king is widowed with a very beautiful daughter. He's looking for a wife, but he wants someone that will be a good mother to his child. His daughter likes to venture off by herself sometimes to play in the woods. She will be visiting the forest later today to play in this river near her castle. You will just happen to be passing by, and I'll make it look like she fell in. You will jump in and save her from drowning. The little girl will tell her father about a woman that saved her, and he will want to know who you are and when he sees you, he will be smitten with you. He'll want to marry you immediately and then you'll become queen and want for nothing ever again." Maleficent expounded holding out her glowing green staff towards Cora.

"What's the catch? I'm just a peasant…This king won't think I'm anything special." Cora analyzed not buying into it.

"My dear you underestimate my power. I will take care of everything." the dark fairy assured her with Cheshire grin.

"And what do you get out of this arrangement?" Cora inquired demanding the price.

"I need your heart…You see my sister sent me into exile, and she punished me by causing me to turn into a fire breathing dragon. It takes lots of concentrated magic to stay in this form but your heart is going to help me with that. It will allow me to stay in my current form without using any magic." she explained etching closer to Cora until they were face to face.

"But don't I need my heart to survive? What will I do without it?" she objected taking a step back.

"You won't feel a thing…Cora I'm taking all of your pain and suffering away. You won't have to deal with any of those torturous emotions ever again." Maleficent promised.

"And what about love? How will I ever love without my heart?" Cora questioned her.

"Love? Who needs love? Love is a burden that just makes us weak." Maleficent bit back bitterly. She thrust her hand into Cora's chest causing her to gasp in surprise. She pulled it back revealing a glowing red heart.

"I'm doing you a favor." Maleficent smirked showing her the heart. Cora's breathing slowed, and she smiled.

"You're right…" Cora replied taking a deep breath.

"Right about what?" Maleficent inquired still holding her heart.

"I don't feel a thing." she respired smiling maliciously at the dark fairy.

"That's a dear…Now let's get you that crown." Maleficent concluded, enrapturing them in a cloud of violet smoke.

~X~

Maleficent had turned into a raven and chased Belle into the river. The girl had sputtered and gasped, calling out for help. Cora had jumped into the river and rescued her just like she and the dark fairy had staged.

"Are you all right?" Cora inquired in a concerned tone to the chestnut haired princess.

"I'm fine…Thank you for rescuing me." the princess stammered as Cora pulled the small child to her feet.

"What's your name sweetheart?" Cora inquired gently to the shivering child.

"I'm Belle, princess of Avonlea. You must come back to the castle with me. I want to tell my papa that you saved me." Belle remarked grabbing Cora by the hand.

"I would love to meet your papa." Cora said as she allowed Belle to take her back to the castle.

They walked about a quarter of a mile until they came to the castle grounds. King Maurice was sitting in the garden reading but was startled when he seen his ten year old daughter running towards him with wet clothes. A woman with auburn hair accompanied her, wearing peasant clothes. Maurice shut his book, putting it aside. He walked halfway to meet his daughter.

"Belle why are you all wet?" Maurice inquired feeling of his daughter's lace sleeve.

"A raven scared me, and I fell into the river but this brave woman saved me papa. She's my hero." Belle gushed referring to the auburn haired woman.

"Ahh thank you for saving my dear Belle-" he lapsed waiting for her to give a name.

"My name is Cora." the peasant bowed reverently.

"Such a beautiful name." Maurice respired instantly enchanted by her beauty. She was sure it was Maleficent's doing.

"Thank you." Cora smiled allowing Maurice to take her hand and kissed it.

"You shall have dinner with my daughter and I tonight." Maurice insisted pulling away from her slightly.

"I would be honored." Cora supplied with another bow.

Maurice ordered Belle's servants to bathe her and give her something befitting a queen to wear. After residing in Avonlea for just three days, Maurice asked for her hand in marriage. They wed in just two short weeks and that's how her tyrant reign began.

She soon grew tired of Maurice, so she poisoned him six years into their marriage. She forced Belle to hard labor and to live in the servant quarters. She never forgot about her baby brother and what she had promised him. It seemed like the fates were on her side this time. The thought that her step daughter and he had wed sent chills up her spine. She was going to take away what he loved most in the worst way possible unless he unrelentingly gave up his throne.

"Maleficent I need a favor!" Cora called as she reentered her vault. She couldn't help but smirk when a swirling vortex of purple smoke appeared, revealing the black fairy.

A/AN: Gosh that was a lot to take in! Are you guys surprised that I'm using Maleficent? I'm not using OUAT's Maleficent but the Disney version. Think Angelina Jolie! Tell me what you guys think in the reviews especially of the family tree part! :D